Friday, February 23, 2007

Maroons
cheer to O-K Green championship

Holland Christian earns
fourth consecutive league title in front of home fans

By
LEO MARTONOSI Senior correspondent

Holland Christian competitive cheer team thrilled the home
crowd by capturing its fourth straight conference championship Thursday
night.

The
Maroons, ranked No. 1 in the latest coaches' Division 2 poll, won the O-K
Green meet with a three-round total of 700.3 points. Muskegon Mona
Shores (665.7) came in
second.

Megan Vogelzang, one of eight seniors on Holland Christian's
roster, said this year's championship may be a little sweeter than the
others.

"I
don't know if I feel that way because I'm a senior, but it means a little
more," Vogelzang said.

First-year
Holland Christian coach Beth Cunningham couldn't pick a favorite
championship.

She was an
assistant coach for the Maroons the previous three seasons under her mother,
Peggy Lintemuth.

"All
four of our league championships have been great," Cunningham said.
"I really can't rank one championship over the other."

The
Maroons now turn their attention to the upcoming regional that determines if
they qualify for state. Holland Christian will compete at the Cedar Springs
regional March 3.

"It
wasn't our greatest performance, but this is a tough part of the
season," Cunningham said of the O-K Green meet. "I'm giving the
team the day off today. Hopefully, we'll rest up and do much better next week
at regional."

The
Maroons are determined to prove their state ranking is correct, senior Katlyn Prince said. They moved up from second this week.

"It's
exciting to be No. 1," Prince said. "Regardless if we are No. 1 or
No. 2, we have to keep working, keep improving."

Teammate Katelyn VerHage, a sophomore, agreed.

"We
need to get a little better at everything," VerHage
said. "We want to turn it on and hit our peak at regionals
and at state."

Vogelzang is more laid back about the Maroons'
chances at regionals and state than VerHage.

"I
just hope we leave everything on the mat," Vogelzang
said.

Two
first-year programs -- Zeeland East and Zeeland West -- ended up tying for
fifth place in the overall O-K Green standings.

Erica
Robinson coaches Zeeland East.

"We've
done really well, actually above and beyond our expectations," Robinson
said. "Hopefully in five years, we'll have a team like Holland Christian
has."

Zeeland
West coach Jessica Carriker is thinking the same
way about her team.

"We've
gotten a ton better. We have high hopes for the future," Carriker said.